Paster anticipate circuit

ABSTRACT

A digital control system for use with web fed printing presses or the like in which a new roll must be spliced to an expiring roll when the diameter of the expiring roll reaches a predetermined minimum and in which preliminary operations must be performed on the new roll in anticipation of the splicing operation. Disclosed is a method and apparatus for generating a signal to indicate that a predetermined period of time exists in advance of the start of preliminary operations, said period of time, once established, always remaining the same irrespective of the speed at which the web is running. Alternatively, the apparatus and method disclosed may provide an indication that a fixed period of time exists before the actual splicing operation.

United States Patent 91 11 1 3,746,272 Rotolo July 17, 1973 [5 PASTERANTlClPATE CIRCUIT Primary Examiner-Louis R. Prince [75] lnventor:Carmen J. Rotolo, Hillside, Ill. Ass'smm ExammerJ' "muons Attorney-JohnBronaugh et al [73] Assignee: North American Rockwell Corporation,Pittsburgh, Pa.

[57] ABSTRACT 22 Filed: on. 12, 1970 A dlgital control system for usew1th web fed printing PP N05 79,911 presses or the like in which a newroll must be spliced to an expiring roll when the diameter of theexpiring 52 us. c1. 242/583, 156/504 E a predetermined minimum and which51 Int. Cl B65h 19/08, B65h 19/1 8 Preliminary opefaims Performed thenew 58 Field of Search 242/58.1, 58.2, 58.3, ahhcipahm 0f the SPhC'hgOperation Disclosed 242/584; 156/504, 505 506, 507 is a method andapparatus for generating a signal to indieate that a predeterminedperiod of time exists in ad- [56] References Cited Vance of the start ofpreliminary operations, said UNITED STATES PATENTS period of time, onceestabhshed. always remaining the same irrespective of the speed at whichthe web is 3335:??? 551323 323L113 ;IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 3335233;running Alternatively the apparatus and method PAS TEE PILOT closed mayprovide an indication that afixed period of time exists before theactual splicing operation.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PASTE? ANT/(IPA 70R 49 45 wa es/M55} C )1INDER Patented July 17, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 PASTER ANTICIPATE CIRCUITThis application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,153 of Frank A.Raymond issued May 2, I967 and entitled Digital Control System ForPrinting Presses Or The Like."

The present invention relates generally to digital control systems forcontrolling the feed of web to printing presses or the like and, morespecifically, to a system for accurately controlling the timerelationships between splicing a new web to an expiring roll, preparingthe new roll for splicing, and loading another new roll in a standbyposition.

In a printing press of the type having a plurality of paper rolls on areel the web of paper normally is fed into the press from one roll ofpaper until the roll diameter approaches the diameter of the core aroundwhich the paper is wrapped. The paper from a second roll on the reelthen is spliced to the paper from the expiring roll while the press isoperating to maintain a continuous web feed to the press. This entireoperation, frequently referred to as making a paster, may be automatically controlled so that a minimum amount of paper remains on thecore of the expiring roll at the completion of a splicing operation andso that the preliminary operations reach their completion as closely aspossible to the splicing operation. The preliminary operations include,among other things, bringing the new web up to running speed andadvancing the roll to the position for splicing. The automaticinitiation of these preliminary operations can be accomplished by adigital control system such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,153cited above. For several reasons it is also desirable to know the exactamount of time remaining before the preliminary operations begin so thatother preliminary activities, such as loading a third roll into astandby position on the reel, can be completed before the preliminaryoperations begin.

Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide apaster control system for printing presses or the like producing anoutput control signal in advance of the preliminary operations on thenewroll, said signal always occurring a fixed period of time in advanceof the preliminary operations irrespective of the speed of the runningweb.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a method foraccurately anticipating, by giving a signal at a fixed advance time, theoccurrence of an event which is related not to the time of rollexpiration, but to the diameter of the expiring roll.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a pastercontrol system in which an indication is given when a fixed period oftime exists before the splicing of the new roll to the web of anexpiring roll regardless of the speed at which the web is moving.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedpaster controlsystem which is primarily digital in design, inherentlyreliable and economical.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent upon reading the attached detailed description and uponreference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a schematic diagram ofa web-splicing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system for the web splicingapparatus of FIG. I, which system is constructed in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are timing diagrams showing various time relationshipsfor the circuitry shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4a-4e are schematic diagrams of various circuits shown in blockform in FIG. 2.

While the invention will be described inconnection with certainpreferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notto be limited to the particular embodiments set forth but, on thecontrary, it is intended to cover the various modifications,alternatives, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit andscope of the invention.

In certain drawings digital circuit elements have been symbolicallyillustrated in the manner in which they are commonly used in theelectronics art. In view of the common usage of these elements, it isunnecessary to give a detailed description of the combination ofcomponents constituting each logic element, and it will be readilyappreciated by one skilled in the art that many different variations andcombinations of components can be used to perform the logic functionassigned to each circuit element. However, a brief description of theoperation of these common elements will be helpful in understanding theoperation of the digital control system of this invention. A flip-flopis a two stage multivibrator circuit having two stable states. In onestate, the first stage is conducting and the second stage is cut off. Inthe other state, the second stage is conducting and the first stage iscut off. The flip-flops are illustrated as rectangles having twosections, one being marked S and the other being marked R. Inputterminals are attached to the left side of the flip-flops, asillustrated in the drawings and output terminals are attached to theright side thereof. When an input signal or pulse is applied to the Sinput terminal, the flip-flop is set and the desired output signal isprovided at the S output terminal only. When an input signal or pulse isapplied to the R input terminal, the flip-flop is reset and the desiredoutput signal is provided at the R output terminal only. A small circleat the input of a logic element indicates that the element responds to anegative going or ground signal at that input, whereas an uncircledinput terminal indicates that the logic element responds to a positivegoing signal at that terminal. A small circle at the output terminal ofa logic element indicates that the desired output signal will benegative-goiing or a logic 0, whereas an uncircled output indicates thatthe desired output signal will be positive-going. When an input signalor pulse is shown as applied to a terminal connected to the junction ofthe Sand R sections, the element is intended to represent a clocked"flip-flop, characterized by the fact that the stable state at the inputsof the S and R sections will be shifted to the outputs of the S and Rsections respectively upon the occurrence of a clock pulse at thejunction terminal. A clocked" type flip-flop will act as a binarycounter if the R output is connected to the S input and the S output isconnected to the R input. With these cross-connections, the fiipflop isset with each even numbered clock pulse at the common junction andreset" upon the occurrence of each odd numbered pulse at the clockjunction. Clocked flip-flops normally have an additional pair of inputterminals 8,, and R, for directly setting or resetting the flip-flopwithout waiting for the occurrence of a clock" pulse. In practice, a setflip-flop is said to be in the one" state, while a reset flip-flop is inthe zero state.

THE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE CONTROL SYSTEM Referring now to the drawings andmore specifically to FIG. 1, the invention is illustrated by way ofexample as employed in web splicing apparatus for use with a newspaperprinting press. In order that the invention may be fully understood, itwill be helpful to set forth an environment in which it may be employed.The apparatus shown is of the type disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,963,235,issued Dec. 6, 1960, to A.V. Pedersen et al. and in 11.8. Pat. No.2,963,234, issued Dec. 6, 1960, to C.W. Chase et al., though theinvention may be adapted by those skilled in the art to cooperate withvarious physical forms of splicing apparatus.

ln general terms, a printing press (not illustrated) is powered byvariable speed drive means such as an electric motor controlled by asuitable speed controller such that the speed may be manually adjustedto any value within a wide range. Turning now to FIG. I, the pressconsumes a web W of paper which is drawn upwardly from an expiring roll11A and passes over a guide roller 12, the press and related machinerybeing omitted from the present illustration. It will be apparent,nevertheless, that the linear velocity of the running web W depends uponthe speed of the press as determined by the setting of the speedadjusting means associated therewith.

A reel stand RS is provided for supporting the expiring roll 1 1A and anew roll 118. The reel stand includes a frame structure 13 and arotatable spider assembly 14 having three uniformly distributed reelspindles. In the illustrated example, the expiring roll 11A is mountedon one spindle, the new roll 11B is mounted on a second spindle, and thethird spindle is illustrated as being in position for acceptance of asecond new roll 11C from a roll loader 15 or from any other means forloading a new roll, including manual loading.

In order to create tension in the web W and to insure its smooth passageupwardly into the press, an automatic tensioning system is provided tooppose the rotation of the expiring roll 1 IA. Briefly, the automaticten- .sioning system includes stationary friction straps 16 which engagethe periphery of the expiring roll and are spaced apart over .the axiallength of the expiring roll 1 IA. The straps are anchored to the framestructure 13 of the reel stand and are kept taut by means of a pneumatictension controller 18. The tension applied to the straps varies inaccordance with the position of a floating guide roller (not shown),such position varying when the tension on the web W increases ordecreases. Since the control of the web tension is conventional, andsince such control does not constitute a part of the present invention,the automatic running tensioning system will not be described in furtherdetail.

When the expiring roll 11A is about to expire, the leading end of theweb on the new roll 11B is spliced to the running web without slowingdown the speed of the web running into the printing press. For theleading end of the web on the new roll 1 18 to be spliced to the runningweb W, the new roll 118 must be moved to a position in which itsperiphery is adjacent to the run ning web W and, subsequent to thesplicing operation, the new roll 11B must be moved approximately to theposition in which the expiring roll 11A is illustrated in FIG. 1 so asto engage the friction straps 16. For the purpose of moving the new roll1 18 t0 successive positions, a reel motor RM, which is controlled by areel motor controller RMC, is provided for rotating the spider assembly14. The reel motor controller RMC in turn is controlled by operation ofa position reel relay PRR which controls the supply of power to the reelmotor controller, the controlled operation of the position reel relayPRR being set forth in the aforementioned Raymond patent.

In order to determine accurately and automatically when the new roll 11B has been translated to a position closely adjacent the running web W,a photoelectric device 20 may be mounted adjacent the running web W andassociated with a light beam source so that the light beam will bebroken by the periphery of the new roll 11B, and the photoelectricdevice 20 will be deactuated when the new roll has been driven to thedesired position.

For the purpose of predriving or rotating the new roll 11B prior to thesplicing operation in order that its peripheral speed will substantiallymatch the linear velocity of the running web so that the web on the newroll is not severed when splicing occurs, predriving means areassociated with the new roll 1 18. Besides operating to predrive the newroll 118, the predriving means are also employed in the present instanceto retard the new roll immediately after a splicing operation so thattension is applied to the web running into the press during thetransition period required for the new roll to be advanced intoengagement with the friction straps 16. As illustrated, the predrivingmeans include a predrive carriage 22 which is pivoted to swing about ashaft 23 between a raised or stowed" position clear of the path ofmovement of the rolls supported by the reel stand RS and a lowered oroperative" position in which it is in operative contact with the newroll 118. The carriage- 22 journals pulleys 24 and 25 on either end overwhich is trained an endless predriving belt 26. When the carriage 22 islowered to the operative position, the belt 26 engages the surface ofthe new roll 11B and, if the belt 26 is either driven or braked, it willserve to apply a driving or braking torque to the new roll l 18. Forthis latter purpose, the pulley 24 is drivingly connected with apredrive and braking motor (notillustrated) which is energized in adesired manner to properly control either its driving speed or itsregenerative braking torque, the details thereof being set forth in theabovementioned Pedersen et al. and Chase et al. patents.

In order to move or shift the predrive carriage 22 between its stowedand operative" positions, a predrive controller PDC is provided. Whenrendered operative, the predrive controller PDC will either cause thecarriage 22 to be swung counterclockwise or clockwise depending onwhether the belt 26 is to be moved into engagement with the new roll oris to be moved out of engagement therewith. Operation of the predrivecontroller PDC is controlled by'a predrive solenoid PDS which causespower to be applied to the predrive controller when energized.

Once the new roll 118 has been moved to a position adjacent the runningweb W by rotation of the spider assembly 14 and the new roll 11B ispredriven so that its peripheral speed substantially matches the linearvelocity of the running web W, the actual splicing of the leading end ofnew web to the running web W is accomplished by the deflecting of therunning web against the surface of the new roll. It will be understoodthat a pattern of glue or other adhesive material is previously appliedon the leading end of the new roll web, the adhesive pattern havingaxial discontinuities in the regions where the predrive belt 26 engagesthe new roll surface. The deflection of the running web W against thenew roll web causes the leading end of the new roll web to adhere to therunning web W and start traveling into the press.

For deflecting and then severing the running web W, a paster assembly 30is provided which includes a carriage 31 pivotally supported on a shaft32 to swing between a retracted or stowed position clear of the path ofmovement of the reel supported web rolls and a lowered or operativeposition adjacent the running web W on the opposite side thereof fromthe new roll 118. For the purpose of driving the carriage 31 between thestowed and operative positions, a carriage positioning motor CPM isprovided which is controlled by operation of a carriage controller CC.The carriage controller CC is in turn controlled by operation of anadvance carriage solenoid ACS and a return carriage solenoid RCS whichcause opposite polarity inputs to be applied thereto when energized.When the advance carriage solenoid ACS is energized, the carriage 31will be advanced to the operative position and, when the return carriagesolenoid RC8 is energized, the carriage 31 will be returned to thestowed position. Moving the paster carriage 30 into position,

plus positioning and predriving the new roll, are known as preliminaryoperations.

Supported by the carriage 31 is a brush assembly including a pivotedbrush 25 for deflecting the running web W against the periphery of thenew roll 118 in order that the adhesive on the leading end of the newroll web will adhere to the running web. For the purpose of moving thebrush 35 into engagement with the running web W so as to impartdeflecting movement thereto, a brush solenoid BS is provided which whenenergized imparts such movement to the brush 35. A knife assemblyincluding a pivoted cutter or knife 36 is also provided on the carriage31 for severing the old web drawn from the expiring roll 11A immediatelyafter the brush assembly 35 has deflectd the web against the gluepattern on the new roll 118. For the purpose of moving the knifeassembly 36 into severing engagement with the old running web, a knifesolenoid KS is provided which imparts such movement thereto whenenergized.

For sensing the position of the carriage 31, a first carriage limitswitch ICLS is mounted such that its actuator will be depressed andassociated contacts will be closed by the carriage when the carriage isin stowed" position. A second carriage limit switch 2CLS is mounted suchthat its actuator will be depressed and associated contacts will beclosed by the carriage when the carriage is in the operative position.

The controlled operations of the advance carriage solenoid ACS, thereturn carriage solenoid RCS, the brush solenoid BS and the knifesolenoid KS are set forth in detail in the Raymond patent mentionedpreviously.

The preliminary operations should be initiated when the expiring rollhas a diameter which corresponds to a predetermined linear relationshipto the adjusted web velocity or press speed. This means that by the timethe preliminary operations are completed, the expiring roll has almostreached a predescribed diameter. To so initiate the preliminaryoperations when the expiring roll has a diameter related to the adjustedpress speed, two signals varying as functions of the angular rollvelocity and linear web velocity are generated, compared, and utilizedto initiate the preliminary operations when the signals timinglyoverlap, i.e., portions thereof timingly coincide.

After the preliminary operations are completed. The actual splicing istriggered when the expiring roll has been reduced to a predetermineddiameter which remains at the preset value regardless of the adjustedvalue of the press speed. This is accomplished by the same signalgenerating apparatus mentioned above, but with one of the signalgenerating means being modified. Thus, two signals are again utilized totrigger the actual splicing operation when the signals timingly overlap.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a control system is illustrated which isdivided generally into two parts, a paster pilot circuit and a pasteranticipator circuit.

The Paster Pilot circuit is described more thoroughly in the Raymondpatent, but a general description of this circuit is included herein.

THE PASTER PILOT CIRCUIT The Paster Pilot is for initiating thepreliminary operations and the splicing operations. For the purpose ofproducing a reference pulse during each revolution of the expiring roll,a commutator 40 is provided which is associated with the expiring roll,roll 11A as illustrated in FIG. 1. In the exemplary embodiment of thecontrol system, the commutator 40 is so designed that (1 a referencepulse having a time period corresponding to a 60 sweep is providedduring each 360' revolution of the commutator and the expiring roll and(2) a triggering pulse is provided at the termination of the 60reference pulse sweep. For this purpose, three contact portions 40A-40Care provided on the commutator 40 which are engaged by brushes 4lA-41C.Contact portion 40A is provided around the entire circumference of thecommutator 40, contact portion 408 is provided over a 60 portion of thecircumference, and contact portion 40C is provided over a short portionof the circumference adjacent the termination of the contact portion408. Since the brush 41A is connected to ground, a ground signal willbeprovided at brush 418 during each 60 sweep of the commutator 40 when thebrush 41B is in engagement with the contact portion 40B and a groundsignal will be provided at brush 41C when brush 41C engages the contactportion 40C. For ease of explanation, the beginning of contact portion403 is arbitrarily designated as the 0 or 360 point in the circumferenceof the commutator 40.

The ground signal or reference pulse provided at the brush 41B istransmitted to a coincidence sensing circuit 45 for a purpose to bedescribed hereinafter, and the ground signal provided at the brush 41C,i.e., the

triggering pulse, is transmitted to a gate 46 so that the gate is openedand pulses may be transmitted therethrough. Accordingly, the referencepulse is produced between and 60 of each commutator revolution and thenarrow triggering pulse is produced at 60.

Means are provided for producing timing pulses at a rate dependent uponthe speed of the running web W including a magnetic pickup device 48 anda gear 49 mounted on the shaft of an impression cylinder (not shown).The magnetic pickup device 48 and the gear 49 are so associated that, asthe gear rotates, the teeth thereof induce pulses in the magnetic pickupdevice.

The A-C output of the magnetic pickup device 48 is transmitted to apulse shaper, integrator, and inverter circuit 50 which produces a pulsetype output for each cycle of the A-C magnetic pickup device output. Theoutput pulses in turn are transmitted to the input of the gate 46 which,when opened, allows the pulses to pass therethrough to the input of acounter 52. As previously mentioned hereinabove, the gate 46 is openedwhen a triggering pulse is produced in the brush 41C associated with thecommutator 40. The ouput of the pulse shaper, integrator, and invertercircuit 50 is also associated with an auxiliary output terminal 51 for apurpose to be described hereinafter.

The counter 52 is preferably an eight stage binary sealer having logicgates connected to produce an output when a selected number of pulseshave been counted thereby. Since, when the gate 46 is-open, one pulse isapplied to the counter 52 for each cycle of the AC magnetic pickupdevice output, the count in the counter 52 corresponds to the number ofteeth of the gear 49 which have passed the magnetic pickup device 48.Thus, when an output pulse is produced by the counter 52, it indicatesthat a prescribed reference length of the running web W has passedthrough the press.

The output of the counter 52 is transmitted to a pulse shaper and resetcircuit 55 which, in response thereto, produces a reset pulse which istransmitted to the counter 52 to cause resetting thereof and produces agate closing pulse which is transmitted to the gate 46 to cause. closingthereof. Additionally, an output pulse or control pulse is produced bythe pulse shaper and reset circuit 55 which is transmitted through anormally closed contact 56 to a pulse stretcher circuit 58 which in turnproduces an output pulse having a preselected extended time period,i.e., a stretched pulse. The

' output of the pulse stretcher circuit is in turntransmitted to thecoincidence sensing circuit 45. The pulse stretcher circuit 58 is presetto produce a stretched pulse having a constant time perod regardless ofthe linear velocity of the running web W.

. When the reference pulse produced by the commuta tor 40 and thestretched pulse produced by the pulse stretcher circuit 58 timinglyoverlap, the coincidence sensing circuit 45 is rendered operative toprovide an output pulse which is transmitted to an output controlcircuit 60. In response to the coincidence sensing circuit output, theoutput control circuit 60 operates to initiate the previously describedpreliminary operations of the splicing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1..Additionally, the output control circuit 60 operates to open thenormally closed contact 56 and to close the normally open contact 61 sothat the output of the pulse shaper and reset circuit 55 is no longerconnected through the pulse stretcher circuit 58 to the coincidencesensing circuit 45, but rather is connected directly to the input of thecoincidence sensing circuit 45, i.e., the pulse stretcher circuit isrendered ineffective. Subsequently, when the reference pulse produced bythe commutator 40 and the control pulse produced by the pulse shaper andreset circuit 55 timingly overlap, the coincidence sensing circuit 45 isrendered operative to produce an output pulse which is transmitted tothe output control circuit 60. In response to this coincidence sensingcircuit output pulse, the output control circuit 60 operates to initiatethe splicing operation of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It shouldbe noted that the time of coincidence as well as the reference length ofweb W may be changed by changing the preset count in counter 52.

For the purpose of insuring against false operation of the controlsystem when the expiring roll is manually displaced during a joggingoperation a safety circuit 62 is provided for rendering the controlsystem inoperative when the press is not running. Additionally, thesafety circuit 62 controls operation of a paster pilotindicating lightPL.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the paster pilot circuit generates afirst pulse to initiate the preliminary operations when the commutator40 reaches a speed such that 5/6 of a revolution thereof occurs withinthe period of 1 stretched pulse plus the counting time of apredetermined number of pulses generated by the pickup 48. The circuitgenerates a second output pulse for initiating the splicing operationwhen 5/6 revolution of the commutator 40 is completed during thecounting time alone, the time difference between the preliminaryoperations and the splicing operations being determined by the pulsestretcher circuit58. The timing relations can be more clearly understoodby reference to the aforementioned Raymond patent, which provides timingdiagrams in FIGS. 43 plus appropriate description thereof.

PASTER ANTICIPATOR In accordance with the present invention, there isprovided additional circuit means for generating another output signalwhich occurs a fixed period of time in advance of the preliminaryoperations described above. This result is achieved by combining withthe paster pilot circuit previously described an anticipator circuitutilizing certain signals already present in the paster pilot circuitplus certain additional signals for implementing a mathematicallyderived relationship for generating the desired output signal a fixedperiod time in advance of the preliminary operations. For a fullunderstanding of the operation of the present invention an understandingof the mathematics behind the physical embodiment to be described isnecessary. For the purposes of the following description, the term firstfiring" refers to the output pulse from the pastor pilot circuit forinitiatingthe preliminary operations described above. The term secondfiring" refers to the output pulse from the paster pilot circuit forinitiating the splicing (paste) operation.

As noted above, the second firing signal is generated in the pasterpilot circuit by a comparison of the length of time it takes to count apredetermined number of pulses related to press speed with the time ittakes for 5/6 of a revolution of the expiring roll. The first firing(i.e., preliminary operations) signal is generated in advance of thesecond firing and represents a comparison of the duration of a constantstretched pulse from the stretcher circuit 58 in addition to the timerequired for the counter 52 to reach its predetermined count with thetime of /6 of a revolution of the expiring role. It is the function ofthe present invention to produce a signal in advance of the first firingby a given amount of time such that this time will remain constantregardless of press speed. The manner in which this is accomplished isby adding to the constant stretched pulse in the paster pilot circuit avariable stretched pulse and comparing the total time with the time of5/6 revolution of the expiring roll. In other words, the pasteranticipator circuit compares the time required for 5/6 revolution of theexpiring roll with the time required f0 three successive operationsincluding (1) the counting of a predetermined number of pulses in thecounter 52 of the pilot circuit, (2) the generating of the stretchedpulse of a fixed duration from the stretcher circuit 58 and (3) thegenerating of a variable stretched pulse from the paster anticipatecircuit shown in FIG. 2.

First we will derive the advance time TADVI required for the preliminaryoperations, which is the time between the first and second firingpulses. For purposes which will later become clear the advance timeTADVI will be derived as a function of pulse stretcher time TSI.Consider the side view of a running roll. Furthermore, consider how thearea of the view changes as the roll diameter decreases.

Let th thickness of the paper in inches.

0 rate of area decrease in in lsec.

A (t) area of the roll at time t in in V linear velocity of the web inin./sec. then,

a th V (m /sec.)

Consider FIG. (3a), where d roll diameter at time t in inches.

do initial roll diameter at time t in inches then,

Substituting Equation (1.1) and solving for t yields 1= 2, 11/4 th V) 40-4 Let Tex time of l revolution of the expiring roll in sec. thus,

Tex 1r d/V by definition within the Digital Paster Pilot where, n thenumber of pulses counted by the pilot before it produces an output dfinal roll diameter at time t in inches Let Tp period of the pulsesderived from the magnetic pickup in the pilot then, the second firing ofthe pilot occurs when d d and t 1 thus,

it Tp (5/6) Tex 511' d /6V The first firing of the pilot occurs wheni=1, and d=11,; thus n Tp TS1=(5/6) Tex 5n d, /6V

where TSl the constant stretched counter output pulse in the pilotSubstituting Equation (1.6) in Equation (1.7) and solving for d, yields4, =11 6V TSl/Srr From Equation (1.3)

t; t, (qr/4th V) (df-df) t, t, (rt/4th V) (d df) Letting, TADVI t t(1.11)

and substituting Equations (1.8), (1.9) and (1.10) in 1.11 yields,

TADVI (9V TSl )/(25 th 71') (3 d 7'81 )/5 th The relationship between Vin inches/sec and IPH is V C IPH/3600 where,

C sheet cutoff in inches.

IPH press speed in impressions per hour Thus substituting Equation(1.13) in Equation 1.12) yields,

TADVI (C IPH TSl )/(th 11' 10) (3 d TSl)/5 th which is the desiredresult. It should be noted this derivation assumes that the velocity andtherefore press speed is a constant in the time interval of TADVI It isseen that if TS] d th and C are given constant values, TADVI is linearlyrelated to press speed.

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention a secondadvance time TADVZ was sought which would remain constant in advance ofthe first firing signal regardless of press speed. The primary purposeof the advance signal TADVZ is to inhibit a loading sequence fromstarting if there would not be enough time to finish the sequence beforethe next preliminary operation. This form of loading initiation will, ineffect, establish priorities for roll loading several different reelsfrom one distributor-loading system, the priority of loading beingdependent upon the order in which preliminary operations begin for thevarious reels. The constant time sought is called TLOAD, and

TLOAD TADVZ TADVl where, TADVl corresponds to the first firing of theDigital Paster Pilot and TADVZ is TLOAD seconds prior to TADVl as shownin FIG. 30. From Equation (1.14)

where TS2 is the period of a variable stretched pulse generated inaddition to TS l, the stretched pulse used in the pilot. SubstitutingEquation (1.14) and Equation (2.2) in Equation (2.1) yields,

The paster anticipate circuit of the present invention produces a signalrepresenting the variable stretched pulse TS2 andsenses coincidence ofthat pulse with the commutator pulse generated in the pilot during eachrevolution of the expiring roll.

When Equation 2.3 is solved for TS2 and TS2 is plotted against pressspeed with a constant TLOAD, the resulting curve gives the impressionthat TS2 is hyperbolically related to press speed. In actuality, theplot of TS2 vs. press speed is in the nature of a shifted hyperbola.Such a relationship can be approximated mathematically by the expressionwhere N is a constant, f,, is proportional to press speed IPH and f], isa constant term with the same dimensions as f,,.

The Equation 2.4 above, therefore, is an approximation equation derivedfrom a study of TS2 as a function of press speed. This equation formsthe basis for the circuit implementation represented by the pasteranticipate circuit shown in FIG. 2. From equations 1.5, 1.6 and 1.13, itcan be found that 2.5) and represents pulses derived from the magneticpickup 48 of the paster pilot circuit. The units of f, will be pulsesper second. Therefore, the constant term desired f, takes the form of aconstant frequency input derived from an oscillator in the circuit. Theconstant term N of equation 2.4 will then be the number of pulses to becounted from the two independent sources f, and f,,. In other words, asignal representing the term TS2, the variable stretched pulse, can be'generated by producing after the fixed stretched pulse TS l a signalgenerated by counting a predetermined number N of pulses from twoindependent sources f, and f Just as the first firing pulse and secondfiring pulse were generated by detecting the coincidence of thestretched pulse from the circuit 58 and the counter pulse from thecircuit 55 with the commutator pulse from the contact 4017, so also isthe variable stretched pulse TS2 compared with the commutator pulsegenerated from the contact 40b of the commutator 40.

Briefly reviewing, the basic approach taken to providing a pulse whichanticipates the preliminary operations by a fixed period of timeinvolved an analysis of how the first firing pulse was obtained. Thiswas obtained by adding to the output from the counter in the pilotcircuita constant stretched pulse, and detecting coincidence betweenthis constant stretched pulse and a commutator pulse generated at theend of each revolution of the commutator. By adding an additionalstretched pulse to the constant stretched pulse and detectingcoincidence between the additional pulse and the commutator signal, astill further time in advance of the paste operation or first firingcould be obtained. However in contrast to the constant stretched pulseused for the first firing, the second stretched pulse had to vary withpress speed. This was necessary because the time between the first andsecond firing pulses varied with press speed, and the additionalstretched pulse would be initiated by a signal which itself wasdependent upon press speed. After having mathematically developed anexpression relating the occurrence of the first firing pulse to pressspeed and to the constant width of the pilot stretched pulse, anexpression relating to the new advance time TADVZ was derivedincorporating the variable stretch pulse period TS2. With the primaryobjective of keeping the new advance time TADV2 constant withrelation tothe time TADVl of the first firing pulse, an expression for the variablestretched pulse TS2 was developed as a function of press speed. Thisresulted in the shifted hyperbolic relationship represented by Equation2.4.

The Paster anticipator circuit of FIG. 2 generates the variablestretched pulse TS2 and detects coincidence of this pulse with thecommutator pulse in the pilot. For the purpose of producing timingpulses representing f, at a rate proportional to the speed of therunning web, one input signal to the paster anticipator circuit is takenfrom theoutput lead 51 from thepulse shaper,

integrator and inverter circuit 50 of the paster pilot. This signal isfed through a single-shot multivibrator having an input terminal 76which is responsive to the negative-going edge of the tirning pulsesfrom the lead 51. The output from the multivibrator '75 is in the formof sharply defined narrow pulses. For simulating the constant frequencyterm f from the Equation 2.4 there is provided a fixed frequencyoscillator 80, the output from which is in the form of narrow voltagespikes. These voltage spikes are fed through a single-shot multivibrator 8] which generates an output pulse of a width approximatelyequal to that of the single-shot multivibrator 75. The outputs from themultivibrators 75, 81 are applied to an inverting OR gate 85, the outputfrom which represents the term (f, +f from Equation 2.4. Sincethe'variable stretched pulse TS2 is to be added to the constantstretched pulse from the circuit 58, the constant stretched pulse istaken from the paster pilot circuit on output line 87 and fed into asingle-shot multivibrator 89 which produces an output pulse on line 90on the trailing edge of the constant stretched pulse on line 87. Thepulse from the multivibrator 89 is narrow in width and is fed to aflip-flop having S and R input terminals 96, 97 respectively which areresponsive to negative-going pulses. The flipflop 95 provides a gatingsignal on the line 99 to activate an inverting AND gate 102 whichcontrols the input to an anticipator counter 104. The counter 104 maytake any one of many forms well known in the art for binary counters,the only requirement being that an input terminal 105, a reset terminal106 and output lines 107 from each stage he provided. The output leads107 are fed to a count detector circuit 110 which may provide for aconstant or variable counts and which, in either case, determines theconstant N for the Equation 2.4. The counter and counter detector willbe described in more detail below.

The output from the count detector 110 is a negativegoing pulsesignaling the end of the stretched pulse period TS2 of Equation 2.4.This pulse is applied to the reset input terminal 97 of the flip-flop95. The reset output from the flip-flop 95 is connected to control asecond inverting AND gate 112 via an input line 113 thereof. The otherinput line 114 to the AND gate 112 carries the output signal from theinverting OR gate 85 described above. The output from the gate 112controls the reset terminal 106 of the counter 104. Therefore, when theflip-flop 95 is reset at the end of the variable stretched pulse, theAND gate 102 is closed to prevent further counting in the counter 104while the AND gate 112 is opened to pass a reset signal to the terminal106 of the counter 104, resetting all stages of the counter inpreparation for the next counting operatron. I

From the above it is seen that the flip-flop 95 is set only during theperiod TS2 and reset at all other times. Therefore, the pulse at the Soutput terminal is a measure of TS2. The remaining function to beprovided by the paster anticipator circuit is the detection ofcoincidence between the pulse TS2 and the commutator output pulse fromthe contact segment 40b of the commutator 40. To this end, an outputline 120 is provided from the commutator output terminal 41b. The line120 feeds the S input terminal 122 of a flip-flop 123, while the R inputterminal 124 thereof is connected through a steering diode 126 to theoutput of the power-on reset circuit 125. An inverter circuit 128inverts the signal from the R output terminal of the flip-flop 123 andprovides a clock pulse to a clocked flip-flop 130 having an S inputterminal 131, an S output terminal 132 and a direct reset terminal Rd.The S input terminal 131 is connected to receive the variable stretchedpulse TS2 from the S output terminal of the flip-flop 95. The R inputterrnianl 124 of flip-flop 123 is also coupled to the contact segment40C through a steering diode 127. With this configuration, flip-flops123 and 130 will be reset by a narrow pulse from the power-on-resetcircuit 125 upon the application of power. Thereafter the flip-flop 234will be alternately set and reset during each revolution of thecommutator 40, going from reset to set as the contact segment 40b makescontact with the brush 41b. At this time the R output terminal from theflip-flop 123 is negativegoing, creating a positive-going signal at theoutput of the inverter 128 sufficient to clock the flip-flop 130. If thevariable stretched pulse TS2 is then present at the S input terminal131, the flip-flop 130 will switch to the set state, producing an outputon the terminal 132 to indicate that the desired fixed period of timenow remains before the first firing of the paster pilot circuit.

Certain of the circuits shown in the paster anticipate circuit of FIG. 2are shown in more detail in FIGS.

4a-4e. Shown in FIG. 4a is a simple uninjunction oscil lator which maybe used for the fixed frequency oscillator of FIG. 2. This circuitincludes a unijunction transistor 140, the input to which is controlledby RC timing circuit consisting of a fixed resistor 141, a variableresistor 142 and a charging capacitor 143. A pair of base leads 144, 145are connected respectively to a dropping resistor 146 and a loadresistor 147, with the output being taken from the base lead 145. As thecapacitor 143 charges beyond the firing threshold of the uninjunctiontransistor 140, the transistor 140 momentarily initiates conductionthrough the resistors 146 and 147 and also discharges the capacitor 143,creating a positive voltage spike at the output terminal 145. When thecapacitor 143 is discharged below a certain voltage, the transistor 140stops conducting until the capacitor 143 again charges to the firingthreshold. The frequency of the oscillator can be varied with thevariable resistor 142, which changes the rate of charge of the capacitor143.

A circuit typical of the non-inverting single-shot 81 of FIG. 2 is shownby FIG. 4b. In this circuit a first transistor 150 of the NPN varietyhas a pair of input resistors 151 and 152 connected to its base. Acollector load resistor 153 is connected to the positive supply. Asecond transistor 155 has a bias resistor 157 plus a collector loadresistor 158. The emitters of both transistors 150 and 155 are grounded.A timing capacitor 160 and timing resistor 156 determine the width ofthe output pulse on lead 161. In operation, the second transistor 155 isnormally conducting while the first transistor 150 is normally cut off.On the occurrence of an input pulse through the resistor 151, thetransistor 150 is rendered conductive, short circuiting the input of thesecond transistor 155 to ground, momentarily rendering the secondtransistor non-conductive and causing the voltage at the output terminal161 to rise. As the capacitor 160 charges, the transistor 155 is againrendered conductive and the voltage at the terminal 161 falls.

FIG. 40 shows an inverting one-shot circuit which operates in a manneridentical to the second stage of the circuit of FIG. 4b, the onlyaddition to the circuit being a protection diode 163 for preventingexcessive reverse bias to the base-emitter junction of the transistor155. The transistor 155 is normally conductive and the output tenninal161 is normally at a low voltage. A negative-going input pulse willmomentarily render the transistor 155 non-conductive, with thetransistor 155 resuming conduction only after the capacitor 160 hasbecome sufi'icently charged. The single-shot circuit of FIG. 4c issuitable forcircuits 75 and 89 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4d shows the details of the power-on reset circuit 125 of FIG. 2.In this circuit a first transistor has an input terminal 171 coupled tothe positive supply through an RC charging circuit 172. A protectiondiode 173 limits the reverse bias which might be applied to thebase-emitter junction. The collector of the transistor 170 is tieddirectly to the positive supply while the emitter is coupled to theinput circuit 175 of a second transistor 177. A dropping resistor 178couples the collector of the second transistor 177 to the positivesupply, while a damping capacitor 179 is connected from the collector toground. As the power to the circuit is applied, the transistor 170 isrendered conductive by the charging circuit 172, which is initiallyuncharged. Bias current is conducted through the collector-emitter pathof the first transistor 170 to render the second transistor 17'!conductive, causing its output terminal 180 to assume a potential nearground. In the circuit of FIG. 2, this initial ground potential willreset the flip-flops 123 and 130. In the meantime the capacitor of thecharging circuit 172 is charging and eventually insufficient current iscarried therethrough to keep the transistor 170 in a conducting state.Both transistors 170 and 177 become non-conductive, and the voltage atthe output terminal 180 rises toward the positive supply voltage. Havingprovided its initial volt pulse, the power-on reset circuit 125 nowremains non-conductive until the next time the power is turned FIG. 4eillustrates a basic ripple counter which may be used for the countercircuit 104 of FIG. 2 and a single gate which may act as the countdetector 110 of FIG. 2. The number of stages in the counter will varydepending upon the maximum count desired, with the present embodimentemploying nine stages to generate possible counts of 05l 1. Because ofthe feedback connections around each stage, the flip-flops shown in FIG.4e are in a J-K configuration, an arrangement which inherently providesdivision by two with each successive stage, such that nine stages willprovide division by 2 or 512. The actual count detected from thepossible 512 counts is determined by the inputs chosenfor the countdetector 110. The count detector 110 is in the form of an inverting ANDgate having input terminals 1100-1101. The counter 1 04 has the S outputterminals from each stage brought out to terminals 107a107irespectively. As will be readily appreciated by one skilled in the art,any desired count can be detected by suitable connections between theinput leads 1l0a-110i of the counter. The counter is reset by anegative-going pulse at the reset line 106, which in the presentinstance occurs in response to detection of the desired count in thedetector 110.

The operation of the paster anticipate circuit of the present inventionwill be better understood by reference to FIG. 3b, which shows thefundamental timing relationships involved. The time for one revolutionof the expiring roll is represented as TEX on curve A as defined bysuccessive pulses 190, 191 generated by contact segment 40c of thecommutator 40. The period 111, represents the time period required forcounting n pulses in the counter 52 of-the paster pilot circuit. Theperiod TS! is, of course, the duration of the constant stretched pulsein the paster pilot. The period TS2 of the variable stretched pulsegenerated by the paster anticipate circuit is shown in curve C. Thispulse is initi-' ated by the trailing edge of the constant stretchedpulse of curve B. The period TS2 will vary for different press speeds,as represented by the various pulse widths l95-l97. Curve D shows thesecond commutate pulse" 200 generated by the contact segment 40B of thecommutator. A phantom pulse 201 on curve D represents the secondcommutatc pulse generated at a later time as the press depletes theexpiring roll. The coincidence of the latter pulse 201 with thestretched pulse TS2 of width 195 results in an output pulse 203 (curveF.) being generated at the output terminal 132 of the paster anticipatecircuit.

The following table illustrates the constancy of the values for TLOADfor various press speeds. The constants used in the examples representedby the table are as follows:

n the preset count in the pilot counter M4 N the preset count in theanticipator counter 32] f}, 3.24 KHz C 23.563 inches th 0.003 inches d4.5 inches TS l 32.1 milliseconds (constant) IPH 10.000 30,000 50,000TS2 (ms) 79.5 56.9 44.3 1, (sec) 3l.5 36.6 -4I.8 t, (sec) 0 0 0 2, (sec)l3l.5 I 39.8 -l42.2 TLOAD (sec) 1,-1, 100.0 103.2 100.4

It is seen from the above table that in a nominal situation as describedabove the value of TLOAD remains constant within a 4 percent range forpress speeds varying from 10,000 IPH to 50,000 IPH. This is well withinthe acceptable performance levels for press applications.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the digital control system hereindisclosed produces a pair of output signals separated by a predeterminedfixed period of time. The paster pilot circuit generates an outputsignal to initiate the preliminary operations when the circuit sensesthat the length of the running web drawn from the expiring roll during afractional portion of each revolution of the expiring roll has reached aprescribed minimum value, the fractional portion of each revolutionbeing determined by the time interval between successive commutatorpulses adjusted by a fixed time period established by the pulsestretcher circuit. However, prior to this preliminary operations signalthe paster anticipator circuit, which is integrally associated with thepaster pilot circuit, produces another output signal when the length ofthe running web drawn from the expiring roll during a second fractionalportion of each revolution reaches a prescribed minimum value. The timerequired for this second fractional portion is defined by the timerequired for the previously defined fractional portion adjusted by aperiod of time which varies as a nonlinear function of web speed. Theoutput signal from the paster anticipator circuit is characterized bythe fact that it occurs a fixed period of time in advance of the outputsignal for initiating the preliminary operations. Once this advance timeis chosen, a change of press speeds has no effect on it.

It will be readily appreciated that the paster anticipate circuitrycould also be used to provide a signal a fixed period in advance of thesecond firing, or splicing operation, rather than in advance of thepreliminary operations or first firing. The paster anticipate circuitcould provide such an advanced signal with a minor modification. If thesignal to the single shot 89 of the anticipate circuit is taken from thepulse shaper and reset circuit 55 of the pilot circuit instead of fromthe output of the pulse stretcher circuit 58, the desired result wouldbe achieved.

The desired length of the fixed period TLOAD can be changed in two ways:(I) by adjustment of the frequency j, of the fixed frequency oscillatorand (2) by adjustment of the count detected by the detector of theanticipate circuit. Such an adjustment is facilitated by the variableresistor 142 of the oscillator 80 (FIG. 4a) and the interchangeableterminals 1 104-1101: of the count detector 110 as shown in FIG. 4e.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a digital control system for timing the splicing of the web from anew roll to a running web drawn from an expiring roll in which systempreliminary operations are to be performed to make ready the new rollfor splicing, the combination comprising first pulse generating meansoperatively associated with the expiring roll for producing a referencepulse during a portion of each revolution thereof,

second pulse generating means associated with the running web forproducing timing pulses at a rate proportional to the speed of therunning web,

a first counter selectively coupled to said second pulse generatingmeans and rendered operative at the trailing edge of the reference pulsefor counting the timing pulses and producing a first control pulse whena preset number of timing pulses have been counted,

means responsive to the first control pulse for generating a secondcontrol pulse of a fixed time duration,

a source of auxiliary pulses at a constant frequency,

a second counter selectively coupled to receive said timing pulses andsaid auxiliary pulses for producing a third control pulse when a presetnumber has been counted, and

counter control means including a bistable circuit having a first stablestate initiated by the trailing edge of said second control pulse duringwhich counting by said second counter takes place and a second stablestate initiated by said third control pulse during which said secondcounter is reset to a zero count,

first coincidence sensing means coupled to said bistable circuit andsaid first pulse generating means for producing a first output signal inresponse to said first stable state and said reference pulse timinglyoverlapping, said first output signal always occurring a fixed timeinterval in advance of a second output signal irrespective of the speedof the web, and

second coincidence sensing means responsive to portions of the secondcontrol pulse and the reference pulse timingly overlapping to generatesaid second output signal to initiate said preliminary operations.

2. A method for generating an electrical output pulse to indicate that afixed period of time remains before the occurrence of preliminaryoperations to make ready for splicing in a system for timing thesplicing of the web from a new roll to a running web drawn from anexpiring roll, said-method comprising the steps of generating areference pulse during a portion of each revolution of the expiringroll;

generating an enabling pulse at the trailing edge of each of saidreference pulses;

generating a train of timing pulses at a frequency which is proportionalto the speed of the running web;

counting said timing pulses, beginning at the occurrence of saidenabling pulse and continuing until a first predetermined count has beenachieved;

generating a first control pulse upon achievement of said predetenninedcount;

generating a second control pulse having a constant width upon theoccurrence of said first control pulse;

generating a series of auxiliary pulses at a constant frequency;

counting said auxiliary pulses and said timing pulses immediatelyfollowing said second control pulse and in response to the applicationof said second control pulse and continuing until a second predeterminedcount has been achieved;

detecting the time coincidence betwee'n'a first reference pulse and saidsecond predetermined count and generating a first output signal inresponse to said coincidence, said first output signal indicating that afixed period of time remains before said preliminary operations; and

generating a second output signal to initiate prelimi nary operationsupon the occurrence of time coincidence between said second controlpulse and one of said reference pulses succeeding said first refer encepulse.

3. An apparatus for indicating that a fixed period of time remainsbefore the beginning of a splice control signal, the combinationcomprising means operatively associated with a running web taken from arotating roll for producing timing pulses at a frequency (fp)proportional to the linear speed of the running web, means operativelyassociated with said web rotating roll and producing a reference pulsein each revolution of said rotating roll,

an auxiliary pulse generator producing pulses at a fixed frequency (f0),

pulse counter means coupled to receive and count said timing pulses andsaid fixed frequency pulses during a prescribed portion of eachrevolution of the expiring roll and to produce an output pulse uponachieving a predetermined count (N),

means associated with the running web for producing a count initiatingpulse during each revolution of the expiring roll, means connected toreceive said count initiating pulse and said counter output pulse andfor generating in response thereto a control pulse whose width (PW)varies according to the relationship PW N/(fp f0), and

means sensing the coincidence of said control pulse and said referencepulse and producing an anticipate signal which indicates that said fixedperiod of time remains before the beginning of the splice controlsignal.

4. In a control system for a printing press whose linear printingvelocity may be varied, for initiating splicing of a web on a new rollto a web running from a rotated expiring roll in response to a splicecontrol signal originated at a predetermined expiring roll diameter, andfor initiating preliminary make-ready of the web on the new roll inresponse to a make-ready control signal originated at a time in advanceof said splice control signal which is varied as a function of printingpress web velocity, means developing an anticipate control signaloriginated at a time in advance of said makeready control signal whichis of constant duration irrespective of printing press web velocity andcomprising, in combination,

first pulse generating means producing a reference pulse during aportion of each revolution of said expiring roll,

second pulse generating means activated in each pe riod of revolution ofthe expiring roll at a constant time relative to said reference pulseand producing a first enabling pulse whose time position following saidreference pulse approaches a succeeding reference pulse with diminishingexpiring roll diameter and varies as a function of printing press webvelocity,

coincidence circuit means originating said splice control signal when asucceeding one of said reference pulses and said first enabling pulsecoincide in time,

third pulse generating means activated in each period of revolution ofthe-expiring roll at a constant time following said firstenabling pulseand producing a second enabling pulse whose time position with respectto said first enabling pulse is constant irrespective of printing pressweb velocity,

coincidence circuit means originating said makeready control signal whensaid succeeding one of said reference pulses and said second enablingpulse coincide in time,

fourth pulse generating means activated in each period of revolution ofthe expiring roll at a constant time relative to said second enablingpulse and producing a-third enabling pulse whose time position withrespect to said second enabling pulse varies as an inverse function ofprinting press web velocity; and

' coincidence circuit means originating said anticipate control signalwhen said succeeding one of said reference pulses and said thirdenabling pulse coincide in time, said anticipate control signal existinga constant time in advance of said splice control signal irrespective ofprinting press web velocity.

5. The invention defined by claim 4 wherein said second pulse generatingmeans further comprises an adjustment means, said second pulse generatoradjustment means being adjustable to vary the time position of saidfirst enabling pulse with respect to said succeeding reference pulse fora predetermined expiring roll diameter.

6. The invention defined by claim 4 wherein said fourth pulse generatingmeans further comprises an adjustment means, said fourth pulse generatoradjustment means being adjustable to produce a third enabling pulsewhose time position with respect to said second enabling pulse varies asa non-linear, hyperbola-like inverse function of printing press webvelocity.

7. The invention defined by claim 4 wherein said fourth pulse generatingmeans further comprises an adjustment means, said fourth pulse generatoradjustment means being adjustable to vary the time position of saidthird enabling pulse with respect to said second enabling pulse tothereby vary the constant time of said anticipate control signal inadvance of said make-ready control signal.

1. In a digital control system for timing the splicing of the web from anew roll to a running web drawn from an expiring roll in which systempreliminary operations are to be performed to make ready the new rollfor splicing, the combination comprising first pulse generating meansoperatively associated with the expiring roll for producing a referencepulse during a portion of each revolution thereof, second pulsegenerating means associated with the running web for producing timingpulses at a rate proportional to the speed of the running web, a firstcounter selectively coupled to said second pulse generating means andrendered operative at the trailing edge of the reference pulse forcounting the timing pulses and producing a first control pulse when apreset number of timing pulses have been counted, means responsive tothe first control pulse for generating a second control pulse of a fixedtime duration, a source of auxiliary pulses at a constant frequency, asecond counter selectively coupled to receive said timing pulses andsaid auxiliary pulses for producing a third control pulse when a presetnumber has been counted, and counter control means including a bistablecircuit having a first stable state initiated by the trailing edge ofsaid second control pulse during which counting by said second countertakes place and a second stable state initiated by said third controlpulse during which said second counter is reset to a zero count, firstcoincidence sensing means coupled to said bistable circuit and saidfirst pulse generating means for producing a first output signal inresponse to said first stable state and said reference pulse timinglyoverlapping, said first output signal always occurring a fixed timeinterval in advance of a second output signal irrespective of the speedof the web, and second coincidence sensing means responsive to portionsof the second control pulse and the reference pulse timingly overlappingto generate said second output signal to initiate said preliminaryoperations.
 2. A method for generating an electrical output pulse toindicate that a fixed period of time remains before the occurrence ofpreliminary operations to make ready for splicing in a system for timingthe splicing of the web from a new roll to a running web drawn from anexpiring roll, said method comprising the steps of generating areference pulse during a portion of each revolution of the expiringroll; generating an enabling pulse at the trailing edge of each of saidreference pulses; generating a train of timing pulses at a frequencywhich is proportional to the speed of the running web; counting saidtiming pulses, beginning at the occurrence of said enabling pulse andcontinuing until a first predetermined count has been achieved;generating a first control pulse upon achievement of said predeterminedcount; generating a second control pulse having a constant width uponthe occurrence of said first control pulse; generating a series ofauxiliary pulses at a constant frequency; counting said auxiliary pulsesand said timing pulses immediately following said second control pulseand in response to the application of said second control pulse andcontinuing until a second predetermined count has been achieved;detecting the time coincidence between a first reference pulse and saidsecond predetermined count and generating a first output signal inresponse to said coincidence, said first output signal indicating that afixed period of time remains before said preliminary operations; andgenerating a second output signal to initiate preliminary operationsupon the occurrence of time coincidence between said second controlpulse and one of said reference pulses succeeding said first referencepulse.
 3. An apparatus for indicating that a fixed period of timeremains before the beginning of a splice control signal, the combinationcomprising means operatively associated with a running web taken from arotating roll for producing timing pulses at a frequency (fp)proportional to the linear speed of the running web, means operativelyassociated with said web rotating roll and producing a reference pulsein each revolution of said rotating roll, an auxiliary pulse generatorproducing pulses at a fixed frequency (fo), pulse counter means coupledto receive and count said timing pulses and said fixed frequency pulsesduring a prescribed portion of each revolution of the expiring roll andto produce an output pulse upon achieving a predetermined count (N),means associated with the running web for producing a count initiatingpulse during each revolution of the expiring roll, means connected toreceive said count initiating pulse and said counter output pulse andfor generating in response thereto a control pulse whose width (PW)varies according to the relationship PW N/(fp + fo), and means sensingthe coincidence of said control pulse and said reference pulse andproducing an anticipate signal which indicates that said fixed period oftime remains before the beginning of the splice control signal.
 4. In acontrol system for a printing press whose linear printing velocity maybe varied, for initiating splicing of a web on a new roll to a webrunning from a rotated expiring roll in response to a splice controlsignal originated at a predetermined expiring roll diameter, and forinitiating preliminary make-ready of the web on the new roll in responseto a make-ready control signal originated at a time in advance of saidsplice control signal which is varied as a function of printing pressweb velocity, means developing an anticipate control signal originatedat a time in advance of said make-ready control signal which is ofconstant duration irrespective of printing press web velocity andcomprising, in combination, first pulse generating means producing areference pulse during a portion of each revolution of said expiringroll, second pulse generating means activated in each period ofrevolution of the expiring roll at a constant time relative to saidreference pulse and producing a first enabling pulse whose time positionfollowing said reference pulse approaches a succeeding reference pulsewith diminishing expiring roll diameter and varies as a function ofprinting press web velocity, coincidence circuit means originating saidsplice control signal when a succeeding one of said reference pulses andsaid first enabling pulse coincide in time, third pulse generating meansactivated in each period of revolution of the expiring roll at aconstant time following said first enabling pulse and producing a secondenabling pulse whose time position with respect to said first enablingpulse is constant irrespective of printing press web velocity,coincidence circuit means originating said make-ready contrOl signalwhen said succeeding one of said reference pulses and said secondenabling pulse coincide in time, fourth pulse generating means activatedin each period of revolution of the expiring roll at a constant timerelative to said second enabling pulse and producing a third enablingpulse whose time position with respect to said second enabling pulsevaries as an inverse function of printing press web velocity; andcoincidence circuit means originating said anticipate control signalwhen said succeeding one of said reference pulses and said thirdenabling pulse coincide in time, said anticipate control signal existinga constant time in advance of said splice control signal irrespective ofprinting press web velocity.
 5. The invention defined by claim 4 whereinsaid second pulse generating means further comprises an adjustmentmeans, said second pulse generator adjustment means being adjustable tovary the time position of said first enabling pulse with respect to saidsucceeding reference pulse for a predetermined expiring roll diameter.6. The invention defined by claim 4 wherein said fourth pulse generatingmeans further comprises an adjustment means, said fourth pulse generatoradjustment means being adjustable to produce a third enabling pulsewhose time position with respect to said second enabling pulse varies asa non-linear, hyperbola-like inverse function of printing press webvelocity.
 7. The invention defined by claim 4 wherein said fourth pulsegenerating means further comprises an adjustment means, said fourthpulse generator adjustment means being adjustable to vary the timeposition of said third enabling pulse with respect to said secondenabling pulse to thereby vary the constant time of said anticipatecontrol signal in advance of said make-ready control signal.